A highly entertaining 3-3 draw for Millwey Rise at Whipton & Pinhoe turned into a real cliff-hanger right to the final whistle.

On 25 minutes, 'Rise' were running away with the match by three goals. In the seventh minute, Nathan Womersley stroked home a penalty. He then added a second after some intricate interplay amongst the forwards and an assist from Sam Turner.

In between, Whipton had threatened on a couple of occasions but Sam Dibling put the final touch to a flick on from Turner and 'Rise' moved 3-0 ahead. A little complacency then crept into their play and some lax defending allowed Whipton to pull one back on the half-hour.

This sparked the home side into action and they put Millwey's goal under severe pressure with a series of corners and strikes, which kept ‘keeper Flynn Smith in constant action. Whipton struck again when they quickly broke from defence with a sweeping move that was clinically finished for their second goal.

Whipton’s final goal was a fine effort when their young winger, who cut in and beat two defenders before striking the ball cleanly past Smith. Into the dying minutes of the half, the 'Rise' goalkeeper intercepted another break but was flattened and temporarily stunned when the opponent’s boot struck him in the chest and left a deep impression of the studs to remind him.

He bravely carried on, obviously in some discomfort and watched 'Rise' score at the other end, only to have it ruled out for offside before the referee blew the half-time whistle.

At the beginning of the second period, Flynn relinquished the goalkeeper's jersey to Nathan Hoole, who was making a rare appearance for 'Rise'. Both sides took it in turns to threaten the respective defences throughout the half but no further goals were added.

Whipton had the best opportunity to wrap up the game when they were awarded a penalty but a brilliant diving save by Hoole pushed the ball around the post. Manager Shayne Featherstone replaced Luke Thurlow and Dave Bridges gave way to Zak Meaker, who was making a welcome return from injury. For supporters of both teams it proved a nail biting afternoon but the result reflected the strength and determination of both sides.

To try and select an outstanding 'Rise' player would take another couple of lines as everybody contributed to a thoroughly entertaining and hard-fought match.

Next Saturday Millwey 1st X1 welcome University of Exeter 7th X1 to Cloakham and on Bank Holiday Monday the return visit of today's opponents Whipton & Pinhoe. Both games KO 3pm.

Millwey's second string travelled to sunny Bampton hunting for a win in their final match of the season. A point from this game would see Rise leapfrog South Zeal and guarantee a top four finish.

The match didn't begin well, as it was Bampton who took an early lead with Millwey's defence all over the place. Shortly after, the game was stopped for ten minutes, as a Bampton player, in making a strong challenge on Theo Souttar-Stone, found himself reeling with a dislocated knee.

When the game resumed, 'Rise' still had difficulty finding their rhythm on Bampton's very wide pitch and were punished again when a Bampton midfielder was allowed time and space on the ball to fire home a brilliant second goal.

This prompted a big response from the boys in blue and, as they started to find their feet, soon reduced the arrears. A quick throw-in taken by Soutar-Stone found Ben Rosling who fired the ball home to make it 1-2.

Millwey pushed for an equaliser and came close when Cameron Board smashed a shot against the home side's crossbar. In the dying minutes of the half, Rosling was brought down in the penalty box. The same player took the spot kick but unfortunately the keeper guessed the right way and 'Rise' finished the half still a goal down.

Manager Terry Male made a change at half-time, bringing on Bogdan Tudor to strengthen the midfield. This seemed to work as Millwey pushed for a second goal, which came courtesy of the ball bouncing around in Bampton's box and eventually coming off a home defender to make it 2-2.

Millwey were then architects of their own downfall when a silly free-kick was given away in a dangerous area. Bampton took full advantage to fire the ball into the top corner of the 'Rise' net for their third goal.

As the half progressed, the spaces got bigger for both sides and if ‘keeper Kierran Bearpark had not produced a fantastic save, Rise could have found themselves further behind. Millwey continually pushed for an equaliser but found themselves thwarted by the Bampton keeper who was having an outstanding match.

The match ended with Millwey still unable to find an equaliser and finishing fifth in the division, which was a remarkable achievement from this group of lads. Cameron Board was awarded Man of the Match as he battled hard on what proved a difficult day.

Manager Terry Male had this to say about his team: “I'm very proud of all the lads that played for me this season, from the young players who joined our club in the summer to the senior players who stepped up big-time this year.

“James and I are over the moon with the final league position, if not a tiny bit disappointed we didn't quite finish fourth. We are sure next season will be better as we will look to strengthen and push for the title.”

Millwey's presentation night is on May 19 at Cloakham Lawns.